Hi! Welcome to The Silver Spleen. My name is Freddie Prinz
and this is my review of GALLANTS. GALLANTS is a film that
charmed me ever since I saw its trailer. Like a lot of people
my age who have any interest in Hong Kong cinema,
I spent many a teenage Saturday afternoon
nursing a hangover, watching Kung Fu Theater. Watching that really makes me
very, very nostalgic for those movies.
Whose ragged charm are part of why I'm sitting in Hong Kong today.
GALLANTS is a story about a young man who travels to a village to settle a
property dispute
and lands in the middle of a feud between two factions over the ownership of a
tea house
that was formerly a martial arts school. The sifu has been in a coma for thirty
years.
There's treachery afoot. What will happen? What do you think will happen???
Fights! Comedy! Action! I was very glad that I got to see this movie with a
regular audience.
This film is funny just reading the subtitles, but if you can understand
Cantonese,
which I really don't, GALLANTS becomes even funnier. The audience were
frequently laughing
really loud and really long, and I was kinda jealous. Physical comedy abounds,
and the principals are so good at it that they can sell it really well.
As usual I don't want to give away too much of the story; I'd much rather talk about
the actors in the film.
Strong performances all around makes GALLANTS a film that over achieves a
great deal.
There's no quantifiable reason for this film to be
as good as it is but I'm very grateful that it is as good
as it is. It's really good. In a broad sense you could
say that the film is a love letter to the old Shaw Brothers movies.
Cast members like Turbo Lo Meng, Siu Yum Yum, and Chen Kuan Tai are all here,
and seeing them onscreen in Hong Kong in a Hong Kong film
was absolutely great. Turbo, Leng Siu Leung, and Chen Kuan Tai can still
convince you of their martial arts prowess
even at their age. I was really impressed with their action work.
I was also impressed with the Shaw-esque use of zoom and freeze-frame
used to highlight the action and the comedy. Teddy Robin turns in his best
performance in
years as the sifu who seems to be having a really hard time
understanding that thirty years have gone by. He's funny
and crude, and motivational, but he's always great. Among the younger stars,
Wong Yau Lam brings life to a character that could easily have
ended up being very very flat. JJ Jia
handles her role with skill and charm, meaning that she's nice to look at for
two reasons,
and she manages to have some presence in a role that could easily have ended up
being very marginal. MC Jin can actually do a pretty good Bruce Lee imitation and
his lines and facial expressions are very funny.
His role may be small but he nevertheless makes his presence felt.
Let me be sort of realistic; GALLANTS is a low budget film
Its biggest stars haven't shined in a long time, and its story is derivative.
And it's still one of the best Hong Kong movies you're going to see
in a very long time. It's smart, energetic,
it's engaging, it's funny, it's exciting, and it will remind you
just how good Hong Kong movies use to be
and still can be. I can't remember the last time I had been entertained so
thoroughly
without having to worry about getting rid of Stripper's Revenge.
I can't and won't exhaustively explain to you why this movie is so good, you just
have to take my word for it. It is.
And if you don't believe me, and part of me hopes you don't,
because I want you to see the movie for yourself. Its qualities are going to be
more than self-evident to you.
This movie deserves our support because it's a movie like they used to make.
It'll make you believe in Hong Kong movies again, so stop looking at
my stupid face, and go online and order this movie
and watch it. Don't download the movie! There are links in the description where
you can buy a dvd
or a Blu ray. I suggest a Blu ray. Yeah, it's that good.
This film deserves the biggest audience that it can get. If you enjoy this review,
please leave me a comment.
If you didn't enjoy the review, please leave me a comment. If you didn't enjoy
GALLANTS, go f@#$ yourself. If you enjoy my reviews in general,
I would very much appreciate a subscription. Thank you and have a
wonderful afternoon.